While low carb may have been one of the hottest diet fads of all time, it’s high protein that’s long been the winner in the war on weight.

Among adults trying to lose weight, 55% made a strong effort to increase their protein intake, up from 50% in 2007, according to the “2010 Gallup Study of Weight Management.” Those making a strong effort to limit carbs declined among current dieters from 39% to 33%.

Moreover, with consumers associating protein with other important weight loss needs—including feeling full, building muscle/body toning, increased energy and lowering cholesterol for those on condition-directed weight loss plans—the future potential for high protein products is awesome indeed.

And, the timing is right. While the economy kept growth in the $61 billion U.S. weight loss industry—which includes foods, supplements, Bariatric surgery, videos, etc.—to less than 1%, it caused “dieters” to further shift to low cost do-it-yourself diet plans, e.g., diet websites, OTC diet pills, meal replacements, low calorie foods/drinks and videos, according to Marketdata Enterprises’ “The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market, May 2011.”

Marketdata Enterprises reports sales of the top eight commercial weight loss chains reached $3.14 billion in 2010, online dieting sales $238 million and diet home delivery sales $924 million.

Market Potential

According to Sloan Trends’ TrendSense Model, protein and weight is a very large, strong and stable Level 2 mass-market opportunity on par with vitamin D and omega 3s. Medical Counts have continued to accelerate throughout most of the decade, indicating very strong scientific support and a wide variety of new newsworthy research findings. Although medical and research activity has flattened since 2006, this very high level of Medical Counts will easily sustain growth for the next three to five years. Mass marketers should be capitalizing on the widespread association of protein and weight, which is still a virtually untapped opportunity.

Perhaps, most compelling is the fact that protein and weight have been a highly marketable association throughout the decade and particularly before and after the low carb movement between 2003 and 2004, when low carb entered the mass-market phase temporarily at Level 1.
After several years of fad-like behavior earlier in the decade, low carb and weight has once again returned to its rightful position in the Popularization Phase, important to trendy specialty/health food channel shoppers and to very health and condition-specific shoppers. Low carb has never crossed the Medical Threshold, indicating the beginning of a long-term sustainable trend and thus, continues to remain among the trendy diet fads. Specialty retailers should continue to capitalize on low carb and weight with creative new approaches recognizing its fad-like behavior.